Benjamin Vogt

Prairie Up is a thoughtful book about the importance of reverting standards lawns to native prairie grasses, legumes, and plants, and how to go about it. We recently moved to Minnesota and have about an acre of property in a small town. A few things I really appreciated about Vogt's approach: he's clear that the change to prairie plants is a process, not an instant thing, and that is not only because of time investment and cost, but because of entities like HOAs that may still insist a "wild lawn" is a violation; the beautiful photographs throughout include small spaces and large, and aren't all mansions and obviously-wealthy settings, which makes the shift feels approachable; he emphasizes the science and the kinds of seeds mixes needed and how to go about things, which is why I'll have my husband read this book as well as he'll be handling that technical side. I have a feeling I'll be referencing this book many times over in the coming years!… (meer)

I had an expectation for this book and what I got wasn't it. That's on me.

I learned about this author from a travel magazine, and the subsequent featured article about natural gardening was so enticing that I decided to check out his book, A New Garden Ethic.

This is what I expected: A how-to manual on how to redesign my Midwestern lawn to include more local plant life. Maybe a sidebar on why certain species are better in certain situations than others. It would be a way to add variety to our home while keeping the maintenance to a minimum.

What I got: The title implies it all. It's a defiant manifesto equating home gardening with fighting climate change. Any how-to instruction is merely part of the environmental awareness narrative. It's a published journal of the author's heart and soul about morality and our ecological responsibility.

If that sounds like something for you, by all means go and enjoy. It's far too removed from reality for me.… (meer)